KJO & Kris Ramble #4: "Brave" Reviews

In our fourth ramble for "KJO & Kris", Kris and I talk about the reviews Brave has been getting. As of now, it's at 70% on Rotten Tomatoes.



Like I said in the Brave Father's Day clip thoughts post, I think there's a bias going on here. I think the critics feel comfortable nitpicking Pixar now that they made a "failure" (Cars 2), so it makes me wonder. If WALL-E or Up were released after Cars 2, would these critics nitpick the much-nitpicked second halves of those two films? Also, what if John Lasseter's anthropomorphic automobiles sequel never existed? Would the critics treat this film like a masterpiece? Or is it actually a problematic film? Are their criticisms legitimate?

You'll find out from me on Saturday, when I see the film.

What do you think?

"Hotel Transylvania" Theatrical Trailer

A new trailer for Sony Pictures Animation's upcoming film Hotel Transylvania (directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of Samurai Jack) has shown up today. Thankfully, it is far superior to the rather quick and ultimately disappointing teaser we got before it.

Anyways, aside from the nice, stylish animation, this actually looks like it could be very fun. Though I'm not all that crazy about the star-studded cast and some of the jokes here, I am actually looking forward to this now. Before I saw this trailer, I wrote the entire film off as a juvenile, silly comedy that would be one of this year's lesser animated features.

The trailer also tells us what the story is, and it seems okay, but I hope they pull off the "child wants to leave his/her protective parent and home" plot. However, like I said, some of the jokes in the trailer misfire completely. Other ones, such as Dracula singing to his daughter Mavis, are hilarious. Adam Sandler's Dracula voice is alright, the rest of the cast seems to be okay, but Adam Sandberg's character sounds very obnoxious. I don't know why, but his character seems like he's going to be annoying. The animation, like it was in the teaser, was good. I like the art direction, though it is reminiscent of Tim Burton's style and such, I still like it. It's actually a bit colorful too for a film like this.

What are your thoughts on this trailer? Do you think it looks good? Do you think it looks bad? What are your thoughts on the cast and the animation? Sound off!

"Monsters University" Teaser Trailers

It's finally here! The teaser trailer for Pixar's Monsters University! Oh wait, scratch that... Make that four teasers! They all have "slight" differences.

What can I say? Aside from the colorful animation and the usually great Pixar look, this is a pretty funny teaser. For starters, the young Mike and Sulley designs look fantastic. It also looks like some of the monsters in this teaser are younger versions of the other scarers in Monsters, Inc. While there isn't too much (the next trailer will probably show us the rest of the university), it's a teaser that does its job. It's funny and it will most likely get people geared up for this prequel, despite any skepticism towards it. It looks like a lot more is going to go into this than Cars 2, whose teaser probably annoyed a lot of people. This one most likely won't, and according to those who saw it with an audience, it will be a hit!

Also, here is some lovely concept art!

Anyways, I'm excited to see Mike and Sully return to the big screen. How about you?

Best Animated Short - 1988

1988 was one of the more significant years in the turbulent decade of my birth. It was the year of the Bush/Dukakis presidential race, the year Soviet Russia begins its perestroika movement that will eventually contribute to the fall of the USSR. Lee Teng-Hui and Benezir Bhutto come into power in Taiwan and Pakistan respectively. US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop releases the groundbreaking report that nicotine is addictive, which may or may not (probably not) have led to tobacco giant Philip Morris buying Kraft Foods. And Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270, all victims of terrorism.

In the sports world, the Summer and Winter Olympics were held in Seoul and Calgary respectively. Kirk Gibson, who was almost essentially lame after injuring both lower extremities, hits a backdoor slider off of Dennis Eckersley blowing the minds of Jack Buck and Vin Scully. In the film world, Rain Man was the surprise box office champ, and was later the Oscar champ, taking home four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Dustin Hoffman. Dangerous Liaisons and the live action/animation hybrid Who Framed Roger Rabbit were big winners as well.

Yet the most significant race may have been the with the animated shorts.

Read more »

Review: "Temple Run: Brave"

Yes, I'll admit it, I love Temple Run. It's addicting, it's fun, it keeps you on the edge of your seat. I converted to it a couple months ago, and have not stopped playing since. When I heard that a version of the game based on Pixar's Brave was being made, I was excited. Right when it hit the App Store, I bought it. Having already played the hell out of it, I felt I'd give it a quick review.

Temple Run: Brave is essentially the same game, except you're in the film's Scotland setting. You play as Princess Merida (the only playable character), of course. Instead of being chased by demonic monkeys, you are chased by Mor'du the demon bear. Basically it's just like Temple Run, but they added a few cool things. Merida speaks from time to time, making things much more interesting. The graphics are also great, and a bit better than the smooth graphics as seen in the original game. The only problem is, the game is rather laggy. It doesn't flow as fast as the original, but hopefully an update solves this.

Best of all, they have added an archery feature. As you run, targets will appear. You usually have to shoot two to five of them, before the next set of targets show up. It adds to the fun, and of course the power ups from the original game are back. The music and sound effects? They're good too.

Overall, if you love Temple Run and are looking forward to Pixar's Brave, getting this game is a must!

"Monsters University" Trailer Coming Wednesday

Disney has announced that the short teaser trailer for Pixar's Monsters University will make its debut on Wednesday. I'm certainly looking forward to it.

Of course, early reports said that whenever Disney screened this trailer at certain events, it always got a big reaction. I'm curious to see what it is that's so funny (I didn't read too many descriptions, don't want to be spoiled!), and hopefully this will get people geared up for the film, regardless of whether it's a sequel/prequel/spin-off or not. What I'm more excited about is seeing Mike and Sulley in completed animation, since we got work-in-progress images and concept art of their younger selves.

What are you looking forward to seeing in this teaser?

"Brave" Father's Day Clip and Early Reviews

I knew it would happen, they could not go without making a Father Day's clip for Brave. It's a good clip, though I personally prefer the Mother's Day one over this. This clip goes for comic relief more than anything, and it's not as long as the Mother's Day clip. Still a nice clip, though.

In other news, some reviews came in. The positive ones are saying that the film is good, but it has problems. Something tells me that the critics could be a bit biased (how would they review this film had Cars 2 never existed?), but then again, there were early reports going around that the film's second act somewhat falls short of the first thirty minutes or so. I wouldn't be surprised actually, given the change of directors halfway through production in late 2010. However, it's good that the film is still considered good by these select critics. There's four negative ones, which has the film at 64% on the Tomatometer. I didn't take the time to read them, but looking at the summaries, some of them seemed biased in a way. One review said Pixar has gone for the "Happy Meal" alternative, and adding that the film is for six year olds... Another one said the film is "nothing more than a caricature of a well-worn conceit"... The other two are a little better by comparison... Well, I'm going to have to see what I think. I for one felt that the critics were harsh on Cars 2, a film that I felt was average and enjoyable. I have given the first eleven Pixar films an A+, and I'm perfectly fine with Brave being a B, B+ or A-. Not everything has to be "Pixar good", they can do a simply good effort from time to time. No one can keep an excellence streak going forever. To think that they can is simply ridiculous. The folks at Pixar are only human. Yes it's disappointing in a way, but come to think of it, getting eleven excellent films (well, ten if you don't like Cars that much, which A LOT of people do) in a row kind of spoiled us... If Pixar continues making movies that are simply good, I'll take that over them making mediocre or bad films.

What do you think of all the negative reviews? Do you think the critics are biased? Or do you believe it's another trip up from Pixar? Sound off!